The Song of Swords

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The Song of Swords is a fictional poem or song quoted entirely or referenced in all of Fred Saberhagen's Books of the Swords novels. Each verse provides the name of and describes the special powers of each of the Twelve Swords of Power. In addition, drawbacks or perils to the Swords are sometimes cleverly hinted at as well.

[edit] THE SONG OF SWORDS

Who holds Coinspinner knows good odds
Whichever move he make
But the Sword of Chance, to please the gods
Slips from him like a snake.

The Sword of Justice balances the pans
Of right and wrong, and foul and fair.
Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans
The fate of all folk everywhere.

Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how d'you slay?
Reaching for the heart in behind the scales.
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where do you stay?
In the belly of the giant that my blade impales.

Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!
Vengeance is his who casts the blade
Yet he will in the end no triumph see.

Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath;
Whose soul it heals has wandered in the night,
Has paid the summing of all debts in death
Has turned to see returning light.

The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light
And men and demons knelt down before.
The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright
Gods joined the dance, and the march to war.
It spun in the twilight dim as well
And gods and men marched off to hell.

I shatter Swords and splinter spears;
None stands to Shieldbreaker
My point's the fount of orphans' tears
My edge the widowmaker.

The Sword of Stealth is given to
One lonely and despised.
Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen
His nature is disguised

The Tyrant's Blade no blood hath spilled
But doth the spirit carve
Soulcutter hath no body killed
But many left to starve.

The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow
With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall.
Stonecutter laid a castle low
With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.

Long roads the Sword of Fury makes
Hard walls it builds around the soft
The fighter who Townsaver takes
Can bid farewell to home and croft.

Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads
Its master's step is brisk.
The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads
But adds unto their risk.

[edit] Exegesis

Who holds Coinspinner knows good odds
Whichever move he make
But the Sword of Chance, to please the gods
Slips from him like a snake.

The holder of Coinspinner shall know "good odds" indeed, stretching the bounds of probability to their utmost. Unlike, for example, Wayfinder, Coinspinner's benefit is general purpose, and without specific direction. Whereas Wayfinder points its user on a path of success, Coinspinner twists all probabilities in its owner's favor, no matter what course of action he chooses, hence "Whichever move he make." Coinspinner always eventually vanishes from its owner's possession, either mysteriously or 'coincidentally,' it "Slips from him like a snake."

The Sword of Justice balances the pans
Of right and wrong, and foul and fair.
Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans
The fate of all folk everywhere.

Though the verse suggests that Doomgiver brings "Balance," Justice is really the operative word here. The image of the balancing pans (the scales of Justice), however, is apt, for Doomgiver creates an equal and opposite reaction to every hostile act directed against its bearer, while simultaneously protecting the "innocent" (whether [s]he is or not) bearer from harm. This leads to the "Eye for an Eye" effect of the Sword's power. Any larger effect it might actually have on "All folk everywhere," is purely in the realm of speculation, since Doomgiver's powers are so little explored in the series. This may be an allusion to the fact that it was Doomgiver which caused the distribution of the Swords of Power to humankind in the first place, thus setting the events of the series in motion.

Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how d'you slay?
Reaching for the heart in behind the scales.
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where do you stay?
In the belly of the giant that my blade impales.

Quite simply indicates that Dragonslicer's power works by penetrating between the hard scales of a dragon, and seeking the heart. Also illustrates the fact that Dragonslicer tends to require great effort to dislodge after use.

Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!
Vengeance is his who casts the blade
Yet he will in the end no triumph see.

Farslayer literally does "howl" when it is used, racing "across the world" to quickly reach its intended target, appearing through his/her heart (in the case of humans). As such, the user of the blade is almost guaranteed "Vengeance," but opening him or herself to harm by this action. Some have interpreted the final line as indicating a literal curse that befalls users of Farslayer, and though there is some evidence to support this (only one user of the blade survives through the series, including several who do not die in a "retaliatory strike" but by other means entirely), it remains likely the line simply indicates the probability of such a "retaliatory strike."

Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath;
Whose soul it heals has wandered in the night,
Has paid the summing of all debts in death
Has turned to see returning light.

Many speculate that the first line indicates that Woundhealer could be used offensively against Demons. This is possible, as Demons could be interpreted as the wounds of the very world. Furthermore, it also refers to the fact the sword can only cut the "flesh" of unliving things, having all the properties of a normal sword until used on a living being. The second line refers to its ability to heal non-physical wounds, such as curing the lingering effects of Soulcutter upon the Silver Queen, and indeed may be a reference to this specific occurrence. The last lines obviously indicate its ability to heal any injury, even unto the point of death. Less obviously, they foreshadow the endgame of the series.

The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light
And men and demons knelt down before.
The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright
Gods joined the dance, and the march to war.
It spun in the twilight dim as well
And gods and men marched off to hell.

Unlike most other verses, the Mindsword's verse seems to primarily tell the story of what its power was used for, rather than describing what its power is. The first two lines indicate the beginning of Vilkata's military campaign, the demonic and human followers brought to him by the Sword's power. The middle lines indicate the second phase, when the Gods appear in an attempt to reclaim the Sword from him and become his subjects as well. The last two lines are a little more figurative in meaning, seeming to point to the "twilight" phase the series enters, the Gotterdammerung aspect of the tale of the death of the Gods, as well as the literal battle the "Gods and men" march off to. The reversal brought on by the Mindsword (Gods worshipping a man, rather than men worshipping gods) serves as a kind of final straw, breaking the power of the gods.

I shatter Swords and splinter spears;
None stands to Shieldbreaker
My point's the fount of orphans' tears
My edge the widowmaker.

The first two lines hint at the Sword's single weakness: literally "no weapon," an unarmed man, can defeat the wielder of Shieldbreaker. The latter two lines tell us little, aside from indicating in a general way that Shieldbreaker is seldom used for a good cause, and never without tragic incident.

The Sword of Stealth is given to
One lowly and despised.
Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen
His nature is disguised

The idea of Sightblinder being given to one "lowly and despised" is refers of course it originally being in the hands of The Emperor, a person whom few believe even exist and think of as a prankster, or as poorest of the poor. The latter lines describe the powers of the Sword briefly, oddly placing its secondary power first. Sightblinder grants a certain "keen" insight to its bearer, but this is clearly secondary to its power to "disguise" the bearer as whoever an onlooker most fears or loves.

The Tyrant's Blade no blood hath spilled
But doth the spirit carve
Soulcutter hath no body killed
But many left to starve.

Though Soulcutter could conceivably be used to spill blood, its effect on the spirits of all who behold it, or for that matter hold it, tends to prevent this from ever occurring. It has "no body killed" for it does no harm to the body, but rather allows them to waste away, to "starve," too apathetic to even attempt to save their own lives.

The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow
With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall.
Stonecutter laid a castle low
With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.

Oddly, Stonecutter is never used in the series as a siege weapon, despite its name, although its power would make it ideal for this purpose. It does, at various times, provide entrance to and egress from utterly impregnable locations, and causes great blocks of stone to tumble and fall. The "hammer's blow" described refers to the sound the sword creates as it cuts stone.

Long roads the Sword of Fury makes
Hard walls it builds around the soft
The fighter who Townsaver takes
Can bid farewell to home and croft.

The first line of this verse is essentially meaningless (though perhaps the long roads refer to the travels forced upon the bearer by the last line); the hard walls built around the soft indicates that the Sword's power is activated by the presence of helpless innocents: they are the "soft," and the Sword creates a "hard wall" by offering a furious defense. The key phrase in this verse is "The fighter who Townsaver takes." It is not a case of unusual verb placement: Townsaver actually "takes" its wielder. In some sense, it wields the person, rather than the reverse, often to the great detriment, as indicated by the final line.

Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads
Its master's step is brisk.
The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads
But adds unto their risk.

Wayfinder's pathfinding power always indicates the best possible path to whatever goal the bearer wishes, thus allowing him to "find good roads," and travel swiftly and so forth. This is true on a metaphorical level as well as the physical, since it can assist in various kinds of decision-making, hence its second name, "The Sword of Wisdom." The final line is slightly misleading: the power of the Sword itself does not create any additional risk, but simply ignores the risk inherent in any undertaking when giving its directions. Therefore, any use of the Sword for great gain will necessarily entail great risk.

[edit] See also

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